Thermally improved semiconductor QFN/SON package

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device without cantilevered leads uses conductive wires ( 120 ) to connect the chip terminals to the leads ( 110 ), and a package compound ( 140 ) to encapsulate the chip surface ( 101   a ) with the terminals, the wires, and the lead surfaces with the attached wires. The chip surface ( 101   b ) opposite the terminals together with portions ( 103 ) of the chip sidewalls protrude from the package, allowing an unimpeded thermal contact of the protruding chip surface to a substrate ( 201 ) to optimize the thermal flux from the chip to the substrate. Solder bodies ( 250 ) attached to the compound-free lead surfaces ( 113   b ) can be connected to the substrate so that the solder bodies are as elongated as the protruding chip height, facilitating the void-free distribution of an underfill compound into the space between chip and substrate, and improving the absorption of thermomechanical stresses during device operation.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 12/255,944 filed Oct. 22,2008, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related in general to the field ofsemiconductor devices and processes, and more specifically to thestructure and fabrication method of thin Quad Flat-No-lead and SmallOutline No-lead semiconductor packages with outstanding thermalcharacteristics.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

A major part of the conventional package of a semiconductor device is ametallic leadframe, commonly made of a copper alloy. The leadframeserves several needs. First, it includes a pad as a stable support forpositioning the chip during the assembly steps; thereafter, duringdevice operation, the pad is expected to support thermal conduction andheat distribution. The assembly itself is typically performed byattaching the chip to the pad with an adhesive polymer material, whichis later polymerized. From the standpoint of distributing theoperational heat from the chip to the outside world, the polymer layerrepresents a barrier, since its thermal conductivity is inferiorcompared to metal even when the polymer is loaded with a thermallyconductive filler such as silver.

Second, the leadframe includes leads for providing electricalconnections from the chip terminals to the periphery of the package and,for many devices, beyond the package to the master board. Actually,since the pitch between the chip terminals is much smaller than anypractical pitch of the leads, the leads come to an end before reachingthe chip; the remaining gaps between the lead tips and the chipterminals are bridged by spans of thin bonding wire. The most popularwire material is gold, alternatively a copper alloy.

In order to protect against mechanical and environmental influences, thechip, wires and major portions of the leadframe are encapsulated in apackage, typically molded using a plastic compound. The outline of thecompound is the perimeter of the package. In traditional semiconductorpackages, the leads protrude from the package perimeter and can thus beformed in a variety of shapes suitable for attachment to externalboards. The most common attachment method is soldering. In contrast, inQuad Flat No-lead (QFN) packages and in Small Outline No-lead (SON)packages, the leads do not protrude from the package outline and arethus attached, again commonly by soldering, to the external boardswithout lead forming or bending.

QFN/SON packages for devices, which create substantial operational heat,have the chip pad structured so that the metal protrudes from theplastic encapsulation so that the thermal energy can flow from the metaldirectly into external heat sinks. Even with this feature, the increasedtemperature requires these devices to use special contours or surfacetreatment of the leadframe metal to prevent delamination between theencapsulation compound and the leadframe under the influence of theincreased temperature and external moisture.

In many families of QFN/SON devices, the connections to external partsis performed by solder paste attached to the lead ends at the packageperimeter. Frequently, the external parts are boards made of materialswith a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) drastically higher thanthe CTE of the chip. For example, with silicon (about 2.5 ppm/° C.) asthe semiconductor material and plastic FR-4 (about 25 ppm/° C.) as boardmaterial, the difference in CTE is about an order of magnitude. When theassembly is subjected to temperature cycling during device usage orreliability testing, the CTE difference creates thermomechanicalstresses on the solder connections. These stresses tend to fatigue thesolder joints and the connections, resulting in microcracks and eventualfailure of the assembly. The ongoing market trend to miniaturize thesolder connections aggravates the failure mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applicant recognizes that the ongoing market trend of miniaturization,especially in emerging applications of handheld and medical products,demand thermal and reliability characteristics for the semiconductorQFN/SON devices, which current design and manufacturing techniquescannot satisfy. For example, step function improvements are required inthermal performance, robustness in drop and moisture stability, internaladhesion, and also manufacturing cost reduction.

Applicant discovered a paradigm shift in the QFN/SON packageconstruction, which solves these needs and bottlenecks. According to theinvention, the package leadframe is free of the conventional pad, ontowhich the semiconductor chip is traditionally assembled with an adhesivepolymer compound. Polymers are poor thermal conductors, and theirinterfaces are infamous for delaminations. Instead, the chip backside,free of the adhesive, protrudes from the molded package for direct,unimpeded heat dissipation to an external heat spreader or heat sinkusing metallic interconnection.

As an additional benefit, the device design with a protruding chip cancreate a thin package even while accepting the chip in its originalthickness. As a consequence, the unwelcome wafer backgrinding step is nolonger required and an ongoing source of process yield loss is thuseliminated. Further, the traditional risk of breaking wafers in thetransportation from the wafer fabs to the assembly sites is diminished.In the process step of attaching the device with the protruding chip toa substrate or board, the chip protrusion provides the spacing neededfor an elongation of the attached solder bodies; the elongated soldershape, in turn, improves the tolerance of thermo-mechanical stressbetween the substrate and the assembled chip during the temperatureswings of the device-in-operation.

One embodiment of the invention is a semiconductor device withoutcantilevered leads, such as a QFN/SON device, which uses conductivewires to connect the chip terminals to the leads. A package compoundencapsulates the chip surface with the terminals, the wires, and thelead surfaces with the attached wires. The encapsulation is configuredso that the chip surface opposite the terminals together with portionsof the chip sidewalls protrude from the package; further free ofcompound is a surface of each lead facing in the same direction as theprotruding chip surface.

When the package is assembled on a substrate, the device structure ofthe invention allows an unimpeded thermal contact of the protruding chipsurface to the substrate. In addition, solder paste attached to thecompound-free lead surfaces can be connected to the substrate so thatthe paste forms a solder body as elongated as the protruding chipheight. The elongated solder bodies offer improved absorption ofthermomechanical stresses during device operation.

Another embodiment of the invention is a method for fabricating aQFN/SON-type device with optimized thermal characteristics. The processstarts by providing a carrier plate with an opening to a recess; theopening has an outline suitable for inserting a semiconductor chip, andthe recess has a depth equal to a first portion of the chip thickness.For high production volume, it is cost effective to shape the openingsand the recesses into the material of the plate. For variable productionloadings, it is more practical to have a flat plate and lay a spacer onit, which has a thickness equal to the first portion of the chipthickness, and variable openings.

A chip with terminals is inserted in the recess so that the terminalsface away from the recess; a portion of the chip thickness is thusinside the recess, the surface opposite the terminals touches therecess, and the remaining thickness portion projects from the opening. Ametal leadframe is laid on the plate so that the leads are positioned ata distance from the chip inserted in the opening. Then, the chipterminals are connected to the leads by spanning wires across thedistance. Thereafter, the wires, the chip thickness projecting from theopening, and the leads are packaged in an encapsulation compound so thatthe lead surface facing the plate remains free of compound. When thepackage is lifted from the plate, the second chip surface and a portionof the chip sidewalls protrude from the package.

The technical advantage of improved QFN/SON thermal performance is basedon the invention's structure to optimize the thermal flux. The thermalflux Q per unit of time is equal to the product of thermal conductivityλ multiplied by the gradient of temperature T, in the direction ofdecreasing temperature, and by the area q perpendicular to thetemperature gradient:dQ/dt=−λ·(gradT)·q,where Q is the vector (in magnitude and direction) of thermal flux, andλ is the thermal conductivity, a materials characteristic. The thermalflux is in the direction of the temperature difference and isproportional to the magnitude of that difference. When, over the lengthl, the temperature drop is steady and uniform from the high temperatureT2 to the low temperature T1, then (grad T) reduces to (T2−T1)/l:dQ/dt=−λ·(q/l)·(T2−T1).λ·(q/l) is called the thermal conductance, and the inverse value l/(λ·q)is called thermal resistance.

The invention enhances the thermal flux vertically away from theheat-generating active circuit components into the substrate heat sinkby improving λ·q (provided by the high thermal conductivity of siliconand copper and the geometry of conductors), and by improving (grad T)(provided by the relatively low temperature of heat sinks).

Other technical advantages of the invention include a reduction ofmanufacturing material costs by eliminating the adhesive chip-attachresin (together with the problems of controlling resin bleed and resincuring), and a reduction of manufacturing process costs by eliminatingthe step of back-grinding of the silicon wafer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is shows a schematic cross section of a semiconductorQFN/SON-type device (a device without cantilevered leads) according tothe invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically the cross section of an apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the invention, in which a packagedsemiconductor chip is assembled on a substrate for optimized heatdissipation.

FIGS. 3 to 8 show steps for fabricating a QFN/SON-type semiconductordevice with optimized thermal characteristics; a number of variations ofthe fabrication method are illustrated.

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic cross section of a portion of a carrier platewith recesses suitable for inserting the partial height of semiconductorchips, the plate supporting the wire bond and encapsulation steps.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross section of the carrier plate with chipsinserted in the recesses, further the leads of a leadframe positioned onthe plate surface.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic cross section of the carrier plate withrecesses, the inserted chips connected to the leads by bonding wires.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic cross section of a carrier portion todepict a modified method for inserting a chip into a recess of thecarrier.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross section of a portion of a flat carrier witha spacer on the surface, the spacer with an opening suitable forinserting a semiconductor chip.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross section of a portion of a flat carrier witha spacer on the surface, the spacer with an opening etched in a specificmanner to insert a semiconductor chip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 (not to scale) illustrates an embodiment of the invention,generally designated 100. The Figure shows a packaged semiconductordevice without cantilevered leads, which is frequently referred to as aQuad Flat No-lead (QFN) or Small-Outline No-lead (SON) device. Thepackaged device includes a semiconductor chip 101 with a first surface101 a and terminals 102, a second surface 101 b opposite the firstsurface 101 a, and sidewalls 103 between the surfaces. The sidewallsdetermine the thickness of chip 101; in the embodiment, the thickness ispreferably in the range from about 225 to 350 μm.

The numerous process steps in the semiconductor integrated circuitmanufacturing process flow require the robust wafer thickness of about275 to 350 μm in order to avoid the risk of fracture during the frequentwafer handling. However, when customer applications call for a thinoverall device thickness (0.55 to 1.0 mm), conventional technologyrequires a thin chip, necessitating a reduction of the wafer thicknessfrom the original value down to sometimes about 100 μm by the process ofback-grinding—a technique which even with latest refinements is stillrough and is, therefore, an unwelcome process step. In contrast, theinvention allows device thicknesses 130 to be between 0.55 and 1.0 mmwithout requiring a chip thinned by the cumbersome wafer backgrindingstep. Instead, a chip thickness between 225 and 275 μm is acceptable.

As FIG. 1 depicts, device 100 includes metal leads 110, which arepositioned at a distance 111 away from sidewalls 103. Leads 110 areportions of an original leadframe, which has been trimmed in the processof singulating (sawing after the molding step) device 100. Like theleadframe, leads 110 are made from a sheet of copper, aluminum, oralloys thereof in the thickness range from about 100 to 200 μm.Preferably, the overall thickness 112 of leads 110 include surface spots113 a and 113 b of plated metal layers, which facilitate wire bondingand solder wetting. For the surface spots, a preferred sequence oflayers includes a nickel layer (about 0.5 to 2.0 μm thick) in contactwith the copper and a palladium layer (about 0.01 to 0.1 μm thick) incontact with the nickel. More preferably, an additional outermost goldlayer (about 0.003 to 0.009 μm thick) is in contact with the palladium.The layers in spots 113 b may be identical to the layers in spots 113 a,or they may be different.

As FIG. 1 further shows, conductive wires 130 span from the chipterminals 102 to the surface spots 113 a on leads 110. The bonding wiresare preferably made of gold or a gold alloy; alternatively, they may becopper or a copper alloy. The arching of the wire span in FIG. 1indicates that the wire connection has been produced by the ball bondingtechnique. An inherent feature of ball bonding (caused by theheat-affected zone in ball formation, see below) is the approximatelyvertical wire stretch before the curvature and bending of the arch; thestretch has a length of about 1 to 1.5 free air ball diameters, and thefree air ball diameter is between about 1.2 and 4 wire diameters. Asdiscussed below, the height of the arch may be reduced by modifying theball bonding technique.

An encapsulation compound 140 packages the chip 101, wires 120, andleads 110 so that the second surface 101 b of the chip and a portion ofthe chip sidewalls 103 protrude from the package. In FIG. 1, the heightof the protruding sidewall portion is designated 103 a. Further, leads110 do not project from the package; this feature may be a consequenceof the device singulation process (see below). In addition, the leadportions with the spots 113 b are free of the encapsulation compound andthus expose the plated layers for solder attachment. As FIG. 1 shows,the compound-free spots 113 b face in the same direction as theprotruding second chip surface 101 b. Solder paste may be attached tothe spots 113 b free of encapsulation compound.

In FIG. 2, the device 100 of FIG. 1 is assembled on a substrate 201,which includes conductive traces 202, heat spreaders 203, and heat sinks204.

Because of its good thermal conductivity, the metallizations 202 and 203are preferably made of copper. The second surface 101 b of chip 101 isassembled on substrate 201 so that a thermally conductive contact isestablished between second surface 101 b and substrate heat spreader 203(or heat sink 204). Preferably, the thermally conductive contact isfacilitated by a layer 210 of solder; alternatively, layer 210 may be aflat copper layer pre-deposited on chip 101, which is brought intointimate contact with the flat surface of copper layer 203. The assemblyillustrated in FIG. 2 enables an optimum thermal flux away from theheat-generating circuit components on chip surface 101 a through thehigh thermal conductivity of silicon chip 101 and metal layer 210 intothe copper of heat spreader 203 or heat sink 204. In addition, therelatively cool temperature of heat sink 204 creates a steep temperaturegradient from surface 101 a to heat sink 204 and thus enhances thethermal flux from the active components to the heat sink.

As FIG. 2 shows, the assembly of the protruding chip surface 101 a ontosubstrate metal 203 by means of attachment metal 210 creates thestand-off 220 of device 100 and substrate 201. This stand-off, in turn,makes it possible for solder paste to acquire an elongated shape forbodies 250, when the connections between leads 110 and traces 202 areformed. Elongated solder connections have been shown to be more tolerantto thermomechanical stresses, rendering the solder joints of the deviceattachment to the substrate more robust in device operation andreliability testing.

FIG. 2 indicates the additional opportunity to structure the thermallyconductive contact 210 of the protruding chip so that the contact metalincludes the sidewall portions 103 a, leading to an additionalimprovement of the thermal conductivity from chip to substrate and thusof the thermal flux form the active components to the heat sink.

FIGS. 3 to 8 illustrate certain steps of the fabrication process flow,and certain equipment examples for performing these steps. The exemplaryfabrication flow is described for batch processing, but applies also forindividual processing. The process flow starts by providing a carrierplate for supporting semiconductor chips 101 during the bonding andencapsulation steps. An example of a plate is shown in FIG. 3 as acarrier, or plate, 301. The plate may be made of metal, ceramic, or aninert material able to tolerate elevated temperatures up to about 250°C.; further, the plate may be heatable. Plate 301 has a flat surface 301a and a plurality of openings 302 for recesses of a depth 303 from thesurface 301 a. Opening 302 has an outline suitable for enabling theinsertion of a semiconductor chip 101, and the depth 303 of the recessis equal to a first portion 103 a of chip sidewall (chip thickness) 103.

One method of creating the recesses is to shape them into the materialof the plate, for instance by machining; this method has been used bythe plate 301 in FIG. 3. This method lends itself to low-cost batchfabrication, when the chips size is not changed for a high number ofruns, and a large number of units have to be built. Another method ofcreating the recesses is illustrated in FIG. 7. The surface of plate 701is left flat; instead of machining the recesses, a spacer 710 isdeposited onto the flat plate. Spacer 710 may be made of metal (forexample stainless steel), ceramic, or an inert material, which tolerateselevated temperature up to about 250° C.; it may be reusable ordisposable; and it is preferably inexpensive. Spacer 710 has a thickness703 equal to the first portion 103 a of the chip thickness (for instance100 μm), and an opening 702 with an outline suitable for enabling theinsertion of a semiconductor chip 101. Opening 702 may be formed byetching or stamping (for more detail about the etched profile of spacer702 see the process description of FIG. 7). This method lend itself tolow-cost fabrication, when the chip size has to be changed frequently,and only a modest number of units has to be built. When a spacer isemployed, the plate may be a heat resistant inert tape (such as theso-called blue tape), which is held by a vacuum chuck.

The semiconductor chips 101 in FIGS. 3 to 8 have a first surface 101 awith terminals 102 and an opposite second surface 101 b. The thicknessis given by sidewall 103; a first portion of the thickness is designated103 a, and the remaining second portion is designated 103 b.

In the next process step, illustrated in FIG. 3, the chips 101 areinserted in the recesses of the plate so that first surface 101 a facesaway from the recess and the second surface 101 b touches the recess. Inthis fashion, the first thickness portion 103 a is inside the recess andthe remaining second thickness portion 103 b projects from the opening302.

In the next process step, shown in FIG. 4, a substantially flat metalleadframe 401 is laid on plate 301. A preferred leadframe metal is acopper alloy; alternatively, the leadframe may be made of aluminum. Theleadframe is substantially flat because it has been fabricated (byetching or stamping) from a sheet of metal (any steps to form specificleads or straps from the sheet are of secondary importance). Theleadframe includes a plurality of leads, or segments, 110 which are nearthe openings 302 at a distance 111 from the inserted chip 101. Leads 110lay flat on plate 301 and are held in place by the frame (not shown inFIG. 4). Leads 110 include a surface 113 a with a metallurgicalcomposition (for example, a gold layer) suitable for wire bonding, and asurface 113 b, facing the plate 301, with a metallurgical compositionsuitable for solder attachment, for example a metal layer stackincluding a nickel layer in contact with the copper, a palladium layerin contact with the nickel, and an outermost gold layer in contact withthe palladium).

Details of the leadframe shape are determined by the configuration ofthe leads and the need to lock the leads in the encapsulation process.When leads 401 are formed with thin portions, as shown by the example inFIG. 4, they facilitate easy singulation of the finished devices alonglines 410, for instance by a sawing step after encapsulation.

The next process step, depicted in FIG. 5, is performed after plate 301is heated to the temperature required for wire bonding (preferablybetween 150 and 270° C.). By the step, the chip terminals 102 areconnected to the leads 110 by spanning conductive wires 120 across thedistance 111 between the inserted chip and the lead. Preferred wiresinclude gold or a gold alloy, alternatively copper or copper alloy. Thepreferred bonding technique is ball bonding using a bonder with wires inthe diameter range between 15 and 33 μm, preferably 20 to 25 μm. Fromthe length of the gold wire protruding from the bonder capillary, a freeair ball with a preferred diameter from about 1.2 to 1.6 wire diametersis formed. The free air ball is placed on the terminal 102 and pressedagainst the metallization of the pad. The capillary is lifted and thewire is moved towards the pad 110 forming an arch spanning the gap 111.The wire is attached to pad 110 by stitch bonding.

FIG. 6 indicates an equipment modification for cases, where the carrierplates have wider openings 601 than required for the size 602 of thechips-being-processed. Experience has shown that molded inert siliconesheets 610 can be used as inserts to fit into the oversize recesses andprovide the narrower opening for the smaller chips. Sheets 610 are heatresistant and may be re-usable. They also may have contact adhesives toinhibit lateral movement of the chips and leadframes.

As mentioned above, when metallic spacers are used, the openings forinserting the semiconductor chips may be created by stamping or chemicaletching. In FIG. 7, the flat spacer 710 is positioned on the flatsurface of carrier plate 301; spacer 710 has a thickness 703 and anopening of width 702. Stamping produces openings with substantiallysmooth sidewalls normal to the spacer surfaces 710 a and 710 b. Chemicaletching, on the other hand, may produce openings with contouredsidewalls. When the etchant can proceed from the surfaces 710 a and 710b simultaneously, the sidewalls 702 a of the opening may exhibit twoconcave contours as indicated in FIG. 7. When the etchant proceeds fromthe surface at different times or with different strength, the concavecontours 702 a may have tilted positions relative the surfaces 710 a and710 b; see FIG. 8.

In the next process step, the chips, which are wire-connected to theleads, are encapsulated in order to create a solid package for chips andleads. A preferred encapsulation technique is transfer molding. For thismethod, carrier 301 with the plurality of chips, wire-connected theleads as illustrated in FIG. 5, is placed in the cavity of a mold. Themolding compound, preferably an epoxy-based polymer material with silicafiller particles, is pressed into the cavity to cover the chips, theleads, and the wires; the chip arrangement on the carrier insures thatthe compound does not cover the surfaces of the chips and leads facingthe carrier. After hardening (polymerizing) the compound, the pluralityof encapsulated chips and leads forms an array of packaged devices; thewhole array can be removed from the carrier.

Using a saw and cutting along the lines 410 indicated in FIG. 4, thearray is singulated into discrete packaged devices as illustrated inFIG. 1. The saw lines are designated 141. As shown in FIG. 1, eachpackaged device has a surface of the chip and a portion of the chipsidewalls protrude from the encapsulation compound, a portion of theleads is free of compound, and the leads do not project from thepackage.

While this invention has been described in reference to illustrativeembodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of theillustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention,will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to thedescription. As an example, the invention applies to any type ofsemiconductor chip, discrete or integrated circuit, and the material ofthe semiconductor chip may include silicon, silicon germanium, galliumarsenide, or any other semiconductor or compound material used inintegrated circuit manufacturing.

As another example, the semiconductor chip may have on its surfaceprotruding from the package a metallization (for example, a layer ofcopper and/or gold) to facilitate the contact to a external heat sink.Or it may have a metallization with affinity to solder, for instance anickel layer followed by a palladium layer. In another example, theprotruding chip may fit directly into a preformed heat spreader.

It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompass any suchmodifications or embodiments.

1. An apparatus comprising: a semiconductor chip having a first surfacewith a terminal, a second surface opposite the first surface, and asidewall between the surfaces; a metal lead at a distance from thesidewall; a conductive wire spanning from the terminal to the lead; andencapsulation compound packaging the chip, the wire and the lead so thatthe second surface and a portion of the sidewall protrude from thepackage, the lead does not project from the package, and a portion ofthe lead is free of compound.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which thesecond chip surface and the compound-free lead portion face in the samedirection.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 further including a metallurgicalsurface composition of the compound-free lead portion suitable forsolder attachment.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 further including asolder body adhering to the compound-free lead portion.
 5. The apparatusof claim 4 further including a substrate onto which the package isassembled.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 further including a thermallyconductive contact of the second chip surface to the substrate.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6 further including a thermally conductive contact ofthe protruding chip sidewall to the substrate.
 8. The apparatus of claim6 further including a connection of the solder body to the substrate. 9.The apparatus of claim 8 further including an elongated outline of thesolder connection.